When I say that I retrieve the poems, I mean I am part of a relational process that allows the intangible forces of life to be seen in the world. I speak about discovery and retrieval over authorship, because I don’t believe we create things out of nothing. At least, that has been my lifelong experience.
It’s more a conversation with the unknown and the unseeable. I am not retrieving from some other world but from this one. In ancient Greece, they had an Aeolian harp, which was played by the wind, named for Aeolus, the Greek god of wind. It was often planted in the open on the top of a hill, where the wind could easily move through the strings, creating music.
In just this way, the essence of life-force and Spirit moves like the wind through our heart and mind, when we’re open and authentic. And the notes of life-force and Spirit that move through us are retrieved and expressed as a poem or painting or dance or piece of music or deep utterance of the soul.
In truth, the wind is everywhere but only visible by what stands in the open before it: a tree, a field of grasses, the flight of a bird. Likewise, Spirit is the invisible wind that is everywhere and only visible when we stand in the open like a tree.
A Question to Walk With: Name and describe one thing you have retrieved from nature or the unseeable forces of life. How did you meet this piece of aliveness and who have you shared it with?
This is from my book in progress Receiving Grace.
Happy New Year! Mark will be guiding some special journeys in 2024 and we’re glad to share all the links here as a reminder:
Falling Down and Getting Up, a Mastery Week at the Modern Elder Academy in Baja, Mexico, Feb 5-10, 2024
The Gift of Deepening and the Radiance in All Things, a weeklong retreat on a river cruise in France hosted by Global Journeys, May 18-24, 2024.
https://globalj.org/the-gift-od-deepening-overview/
You Don’t Have to Do It Alone: The Power of Friendship, a Mastery Week at the Modern Elder Academy in Santa Fe, Mexico, Sept 16-21, 2024.
https://www.meawisdom.com/workshop/the-power-of-friendship-with-mark-nepo
Saying Yes to Life: The One Life We’re Given, a weeklong retreat in Costa Rica, hosted by Global Journeys, Dec 8-14, 2024.
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